Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone: Chapter 6
=The Journey From Platform Nine And Three Quarters= Synopsis The Dursleys gave Harry the silent treatment for his last month with them, so he spends his time with his owl Hedwig, reading his schoolbooks. He manages to get Uncle Vernon to drive him to King's Cross Station for the train to Hogwarts, but the Dursleys leave him behind when he can't find Platform Nine And Three Quarters between Platform Nine and Platform Ten. Harry has no luck getting information from the guards at the station, but luckily he overhears the word "Muggle", and finds a red-haired family who seem to also be bound for Hogwarts. After Percy manages to somehow make his way between the two platforms, Harry asks them for help, and so meets the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley tells him just to run at the divider between the platforms, and he'll make it through. After the twins, Fred and George, make their way through, Harry gives it a try, runs toward the barrier, and finds himself on Platform Nine And Three Quarters, where the Hogwarts Express is boarding. He has some trouble getting his trunk onto the train, but the Weasley twins come to help him. They see his scar, and realize who he is. After his trunk is loaded, Harry sits near a window to listen to the Weasleys' conversation. Percy is apparently a prefect, Fred and George are pranksters, and Ginny is too young to go to Hogwarts yet. The twins mention seeing Harry Potter on the train. The whistle blows, the Weasleys board the train with the last passengers, and the Hogwarts Express pulls out of the station. Ron Weasley comes into Harry's compartment and asks to join him. The twins pass by, introduce themselves and Ron, and then move on. Harry and Ron begin talking--Ron tells Harry about his family, and how he's the sixth boy in the family to go to Hogwarts. He shows Harry his rat, Scabbers, a hand-me-down from Percy. Harry tells him about growing up among Muggles, ignorant of his wizarding heritage. He's afraid he'll be the worst wizard in the school. The candy trolley comes by, and Harry goes out to buy as much as he can. He shares it readily with Ron, who is embarrassed at not being able to afford it himself. Ron tells him about Chocolate Frog and the "famous wizards and witches" cards that come inside them. Harry finds a Dumbledore card inside his, and is fascinated by the moving picture. He then tries some Every Flavour Beans. Neville Longbottom comes by, looking for his toad. Ron is trying a spell to turn Scabbers yellow when Neville returns, in the tow of Hermione Granger. She is not impressed with the spell, and immediately comes off as a know-it-all and a keener. She expresses the hope she'll end up in Gryffindor, or at least Ravenclaw. After she leaves, Ron agrees, but hopes he's not in the same house as her. His brothers are all in Gryffindor, as were his parents. Ron mentions that one of his older brothers works at Gringotts, and mentions a robbery that was in the Daily Prophet Ron discovers Harry's near-ignorance of Quidditch and talks about it until three other boys come into the compartment--the pale boy from Madam Malkin's, who introduces himself as Draco Malfoy, and his heavyset friends Crabbe and Goyle. He asks if Harry's really Harry Potter, and sneers at Ron Weasley and his family. He tells Harry that some wizarding families are better than others, and Harry coolly replies that he can already tell which the wrong sort are. Draco insults the Weasleys again, as well as Hagrid, then moves in on the candy, and Harry and Ron are getting ready to fight, when Scabbers bites Goyle on the finger. After shaking the rat off, the three run off, just before Hermione returns. She tells them they're almost there, and they should put their robes on. The train comes to a stop a few minutes later, and they get off into the cool night, both nervous. Hagrid turns up to escort the first-years down a steep path towards a lakeshore where there are a number of boats, and Hogwarts itself perched on a mountain on the far side. At Hagrid's command, the boats move forward across the lake. They pass through a gap in the rock wall into an underground harbour, where they debark. Neville's toad finally turns up, and they climb a flight of stairs into a courtyard, where Hagrid knocks on the huge oak front door. Character List Appearing: *Crabbe *Draco Malfoy *Dudley Dursley *Fred Weasley *George Weasley *Ginny Weasley *Goyle *Harry Potter *Hedwig *Hermione Granger *Lee Jordan *Molly Weasley *Neville Longbottom *Percy Weasley *Petunia Dursley *Ron Weasley *Rubeus Hagrid *Scabbers *Trevor *Vernon Dursley Mentioned: *Agrippa *Alberic Grunnion *Albus Dumbledore *Bill Weasley *Charlie Weasley *Circe *Cliodna *Grindelwald *Hengist of Woodcroft *Merlin *Morgana *Nicolas Flamel *Paracelsus *Ptolemy *Voldemort Terms Mentioned Places: *Diagon Alley *Gringotts *Hogwarts *Madam Malkin's *Platform Nine And Three Quarters *Smeltings Terms: *''A History of Magic'' *Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans *Cauldron Cakes *Chocolate Frog *''Daily Prophet'' *Dragon *Drooble's Best Blowing Gum *Dursley *''Great Wizarding Events of The Twentieth Century'' *Gryffindor *Head Boy *Hogwarts Express *Knut *Liquorice Wands *''Modern Magical History'' *Muggle *Owl *Prefect *Pumpkin Pasties *Quidditch *Ravenclaw *''The Rise And Fall of The Dark Arts'' *Sickle *Slytherin *Unicorn *Wand *Weasley *You-Know-Who Plot Points #Scabbers is a rat that Ron inherited from Percy. #Neville is accompanied by his grandmother and keeps losing his toad. #Draco Malfoy is disdainful of the Weasleys #Nicolas Flamel is mentioned on Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card as a friend and collaborator in alchemy. #Ron has heard that a vault at Gringotts was robbed, but apparently nothing was stolen. #Draco Malfoy's family used to serve Voldemort, but said they'd been bewitched. #Harry and Draco Malfoy become openly hostile to each other. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone: Chapter 06